The Den of Snakes
by Foria
Summary: The wizarding world is a dangerous place where the ideals of Voldemort are Ministry policy. Ginny Weasley finds herself in the center of the headquarters for the pure-blood movement when she is forced to marry a member of the House of Malfoy. Info inside
1. A Fate Worse Than Death

**The Den of Snakes**

**Summary (Expanded)**: AU: In 1986 the Muggle Raised Protection Act was passed after learning of the horrible treatment Harry Potter endured from muggles who were supposed to protect him. Now the wizarding world is a dangerous place where the ideals of Voldemort are Ministry policy. Ginny Weasley finds herself in the center of the headquarters for the pure-blood movement when she is forced to marry a member of the House of Malfoy. However, not everything is as it seems and Ginny discovers her new living situation to be exactly where she needs to be to fight in the war against blood purity.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. Sad but true. I could use the money to pay off my student loans. All Harry Potter related elements are obviously JK Rowling, the storyline and original characters are the product of my imagination.

**Pairings:** Dean/Ginny, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Lavender (More ships will be posted later. I don't want to spoil too much too soon) ;)

**Rating: **Mature for situations that will occur in the future. Nothing will be explicate, however adult themes, such as rape will be mentioned and there will be some sexual situations.

**Chapter 1: A Fate Worse Than Death**

**August 1****st****, 1997**

Ginny Weasley laughed as her boyfriend Dean Thomas swung her around the dance floor. The day had been simply wonderful for her brother, Bill's wedding to his longtime girlfriend Fleur Delacour, although Ginny mused, her name was Fleur Weasley now. Ginny couldn't picture a more perfect way for two people to being their lives together. She hated to admit it, but deep down inside she was a true romantic to the core.

"Come on, Ginny," Dean whispered in her ear, as he pressed his body closer to her. "Why don't we take a walk in the orchard?"

"Not now, Dean," Ginny giggled. "We can walk around the orchard anytime we like."

"Ginny," Dean whined. "That isn't what I mean."

"Dean," Ginny hissed in warning.

"But don't you want some alone time?" Dean asked with a glint of desire in his eyes.

"Not now!" Ginny said with gritted teeth. "This is my brother's wedding; we're not going to sneak to the apple orchard for a snog." With a defeated look on his face, Dean let the matter drop, and Ginny was able to return to enjoying her eldest brother's wedding.

As the music came to a close, Ginny realized there was only one tradition left, the throwing of the bouquet, before the bride and groom could slip away to begin their honeymoon in Milan.

"Dean," Ginny said, pulling his hand, "I want to join in the bouquet throwing."

"Do we have to?" Dean asked, the whine in his voice did not hide his displeasure.

"No, you don't have to," Ginny said with a smile. "But I'm going to."

With a resigned sigh Dean kept a hold of her hand as they walked off the dance floor, to where the Bride's bouquet was about to be thrown. But before Ginny could reach the congregation of waiting witches, a heart wrenching scream rocked the wedding party.

Immediately Ginny knew the cry was from her mother. Breaking her hand free from Dean's grip, Ginny raced to the source of the now constant sobbing. Her mother was sitting on a bench in the garden, crying on her father's shoulder. Ginny quickly realized she was the last of her siblings to reach her mother, as all of her brothers were standing around her.

"Not my baby!" Her mum wailed again, drawing further attention from the wedding guests who were standing around the immediate area.

"There's nothing to see here," Bill said as he began to usher away curious guests that happened upon the family. Charlie assisted their eldest brother in showing away their party guests.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked when it became apparent that no one was going to say anything. However the sound of Ginny's voice seemed to only make matters worse. Her mother's sobs increased in pace and intensity.

Her brothers Fred and George, who always would attempt to make a serious situation a little less grim, with a laugh or a joke, had stoic looks on their faces. While her brothers Ron and Percy were simply unreadable. Out of nowhere, Fleur wrapped her arms around Molly's shoulders and pried her away from Arthur, only to give Molly a different shoulder to cry on. Whatever was going on, it seemed as if Ginny was the last in the family to know.

"Ginny," her father said after a few long moments, "I just received an urgent owl from the Ministry. May I see your left hand for a moment?"

Completely confused as to why her father wanted to see her hand, Ginny nodded her consent before placing her left hand, palm down, out in front of her for her father to inspect. But instead of looking at her hand, her dad was inspecting her wrist. Once he turned her wrist around he let out a hiss.

"How could this have happened?" Her dad asked in a completely defeated voiced.

Ginny had taken a glance at her own wrist when her father inspected it but she hadn't seen anything wrong with it. However, upon closer inspection, she could see white lines forming some sort of a mark around her wrist. The white lines reminded Ginny of a faded scar, yet she knew she never had on in that location.

There were three interloping ovals which all connected in the middle. The three ovals were also intertwined by a large circle in the middle of the ovals. Ginny vaguely recognized the symbol from her ancient ruins class. It looked like the Celtic symbol for the triquetra.

The triquetra sat in the middle of her wrist, on the palm side. The rest of her wrist was wrapped in a design that reminded Ginny of vine covered in leaves. The vines connected one side of the triquetra to the other. All in all, the mark made Ginny very nervous.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked again, only this time with much more urgency in her tone. "What did this letter say and what does it have to do with my wrist?"

"Ginny," her father began, not meeting her eyes. "The letter from the Ministry is about you."

"About me," Ginny interrupted. "What did I do?"

"Nothing dear," her dad said a bit too quickly for Ginny's comfort. "I am sure this is in no way your fault. But, the mark on your wrist proves that it is true."

"Proves what is true?" Ginny asked perplexed as to why her father wasn't simply spitting out what he need to say.

"You've been betrothed by magical means." Her father said simply and calmly. "And if this letter from the Ministry is genuine," her father continued, handing her the letter. "You are betrothed to a member of the Malfoy family."

All the strength suddenly seemed to leave Ginny's body as she clasped on the bench next to her sobbing mother. Gingerly holding the letter, Ginny opened it to read the words that would change the course of the rest of her life.

~*~

A meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was promptly called as soon as her brothers were able to convince their guests that the wedding reception was over. Bill and Fleur even postponed their honeymoon indefinitely until this issue was resolved.

"It is not like we could have enjoyed ourselves," Bill confided to her. "We both would have been worried sick about you the whole time."

So this was how Ginny found her family on the evening of a very joyous occasion, her parents and brothers in an emergency Order meeting while she sat on the top of the stairs with the muggle-born wards of her family clustered around her. Since the Muggle Raised Protection Act was passed nearly eleven years ago, her family had fostered several muggle-born witches and wizards. Even though her family strongly protested the law, they still attempted to help as many people as possible from what they felt was an unjust law.

"It's going to be okay, Ginny," little ten-year-old Amanda said as she climbed into Ginny's lap.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, as he placed his arms reassuringly on Ginny's shoulders. "The Order will know what to do. You'll see everything will be alright.

Ginny had to smile at Dean's statement. The Order had been around for as long as Ginny remembered. The meetings of the organization were frequently held at her family's home throughout her childhood, while her older brothers would watch the younger siblings and the wards upstairs.

Then one by one (actually two at once for the twins) her brothers joined the Order when they were of age. Most recently her brother Ron joined, even though he still had one more year at Hogwarts. In the eyes of the wizarding world he was of age, and the Order needed all the help they could get.

According to Bill and Charlie there was a time that the Order was not based out of their home. A long time ago the Order was an organization that fought the evil Lord Voldemort before Harry Potter defeated him. With Voldemort gone, there was no need for the Order to continue, so the Order had disbanded until the time when they would be needed again. Unfortunately, it all started again for the Order when Ginny was only five years old.

Rumor had it when little Harry Potter was orphaned, he was sent to live with his muggle relatives who treated him absolutely horridly. As soon as the Ministry of Magic learned of this they removed him from the muggles, and he was sent to live with a wizarding family. Soon after all muggle-born children were being removed from their homes.

The Muggle Raised Protection Act was passed as a reaction to the negative way muggles tended to react to magical children; the case with Harry Potter being the only evidence that the ministry cited. Soon after the law was passed, the Order was reformed to swoop in to help as many muggle-born families as possible. Her family had taken in a large number of muggle-born children as well as act as host for the Order of the Phoenix.

"Why is Ginny up here with us?" Amanda asked suddenly breaking Ginny from her thoughts. "Why isn't she downstairs with the Order?"

"She isn't of age," Dean gruffly replied. It was a bit of a sore point for her boyfriend considering he wouldn't be considered of age until the next year due to the Muggle-born restrictions that had been past two years previous. Even though pure-bloods and half-bloods were considered of age when they turned seventeen, muggle-borns were not considered of age until eighteen like their muggle counterparts. Otherwise, Ginny was quite sure Dean would be in the meeting of the Order himself.

"It's alright, Amanda," Ginny said with a smile on her face. "I know the Order is doing what they can for me."

Amanda continued questioning why everyone was worried about Ginny, but Ginny could not concentrate on the questions. She was too nervous and worried about what could happen to her. After what felt like an eternity, Ron appeared on the top of the stairs.

"It's okay to go down now," Ron said with a rather subdue tone. He would not meet Ginny's eyes, when she attempted to get some reassurance from him.

Things were not looking very optimistic for Ginny at this point in time.

Slowly Ginny entered the kitchen, not truly knowing whether or not she would want to hear the results of the meeting. Sitting at the kitchen table was her immediate family and the headmaster of her school, Albus Dumbledore.

"Miss Weasley," Professor Dumbledore began. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. However, one cannot always choose what will come their way in life."

Ginny wordlessly stared at the ancient wizard, hoping that he would just get to the point.

"As you know," Dumbledore continued, "the Order held a meeting this evening discussing the letter your parents received this afternoon. Before I continue, is there anything you wish you wish to tell me?"

Ginny stared at Dumbledore in shock, "What do you mean professor?"

"Is there anything you wish to confess about your relationship with Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore continued to press.

"What relationship with Draco?" Ginny asked in genuine confusion. "I barely know the pounce."

"That is not what the Malfoys are claiming," Professor Dumbledore continued in a serene tone. "According to their account of the story, Draco and you chose to bond with one another in marriage since neither of your families would approve of your relationship."

"That is completely insane," Ginny spat in response. "That is a cock-bull story," Ginny continued unperturbed by her mother's outrage with her language. "I am in love with my boyfriend Dean. I don't really know Draco other than the fact that he tries to make Ron's life a living nightmare at Hogwarts." Ron squawked in indignation at Ginny's last statement, yet he couldn't refuse the charge. "I don't know what the Malfoys are planning, but despite their claims, I am not a willing participant."

"Very good," Professor Dumbledore replied with a nod. "I believed this is what you would claim, but several members of the Order pointed out it would be difficult to refute the Malfoys' claims." At Ginny's startled look, Dumbledore continued. "They claim you committed this betrothing bond due to the fact that your family would not approve, Miss Weasley. Even if you claim that you did not willing participate, the Malfoy family will simply reply that this is why you and Draco went through such drastic measures."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Ginny boldly asked, staring Dumbledore in the eyes.

At her question Dumbledore let out a sigh. "To be quite honest, Miss Weasley there is very little we can do. I will attempt to run an appeal through the Wizengamot, but if that fails, you will have to marry Draco Malfoy. The nuptials will have to occur on your sixteenth birthday and the union will need to be consummated within twenty-four hours or you may die."

"And if I refuse?" Ginny asked intently, trying to determine her options.

"You will die, and your father will face incarceration in Azkaban for allowing your death and not honoring the betrothal agreement." Dumbledore said in a very sad tone.

Ginny just stared at the elderly man, unable to fathom what he had just stated.

"Death?" Her Mum squeaked out, "No one said anything about death!"

"I hope this will not be the case," Dumbledore said while addressing Molly. "I have every confidence that this betrothal will be overturned. We can just never be sure, until it actually happens."

"Did you really have to tell her that?" Her father asked, his anger evident by his neck turning shades of red.

"She asked, and she deserves the truth," was Dumbledore's simple reply.

~*~

**August 10****th****, 1997**

Ginny reveled in the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair as she continued to dip and dive across her family's orchard. While it probably was not very wise to fly in the dark, Ginny was very used to it. Ever since she was five years old, Ginny would sneak out at night and steal her brothers' brooms to practice flying on her own. Over the past few days her brothers had been treating her as if she was made of glass; she needed to escape to enjoy her last few hours of freedom.

Just hours before Ginny's fate was sealed. Dumbledore arrived after the latest meeting of the Wizengamot to deliver her the devastating news. The appeal had fallen through, and Ginny was ordered to surrender herself to the Malfoy Manor the next morning. Once again her mother had a break down crying and screaming, while her father and brothers just looked depressed. Ginny couldn't remain in their presence when they were all acting like that. She loved her family very much, but she needed their strength, not their pity at this point.

Ginny, with tears in her eyes, trekked out to take a walk around the woods that surrounded the Burrow, taking the time to remember her childhood home, before she was ripped away from it. She had been so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize that Dean had found her until he grabbed her shoulder.

"I guess we're not dating anymore," was the only thing Dean said to her. But it was the look in his eyes that said everything. He was angry with her.

"What have I done?" Ginny quietly asked.

Dean turned his head to stare into her eyes. "They have been saying a lot of different things Ginny. Things about you and Draco," he continued at her confused expression. "A lot of people claim you and Draco did this on purpose."

"Who?" Ginny snapped at Dean. "Who is claiming this about me?" She was seething inside. Of all the people in the world, Dean should believe her over the rumors about her.

"Other Hogwarts students that I met up with in Diagon Alley," Dean replied dropping his eyes. "I have no idea what has happened to us anymore."

With those final words, Dean walked away. Ginny didn't know if she would ever see him again.

Coming out of her memories, Ginny made one final dive before heading back into the Burrow, and the unknown. As she slowly walked back to the Burrow, she glazed over her five-floor family home. The size of Burrow increased as the amount of people living in the Weasley home grew. It had always looked as though it was barely held together by magic, but as they needed to add more floors, it became more apparent that it was only love and magic that kept this home together.

Walking up to the back porch, Ginny noticed a light on in the kitchen. Obviously she was not the only Weasley who could not sleep this night. As she walked in the back door to the kitchen, Ginny saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table with two glasses in front of her. Ginny found this out of place since her mother was never one to stay up late. In all of Ginny's years of flying late at night, she had never once encountered her mother when she returned after her flight.

Unsure as to what to do Ginny silently walked through the kitchen, waiting for her mother to make the first move.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Her mother simply asked.

"No, mum," Ginny said with a weak smile. "I needed to clear my head and the best way for me to do that is by flying."

Her mother clicked in disproval, "Ginny dear, you know it isn't very safe to fly at night."

"What does it matter?" Ginny asked in a depressed tone. "I'm going to the Malfoy Manor in the morning. I might have been better off if I had died in a horrid crash during my flight."

"Ginevra!" Her mum exclaimed in horror. "How dare you suggest you would be better off dead?"

"I'm sorry Mum," Ginny replied, her regret for her previous words evident in her voice. "I'm just…" Ginny trailed off, unsure exactly how to put her feelings into words.

"I understand," her mother said with compassion in her tone. "Really, I do Ginny. This was not the way any of us ever pictured you would be marrying." Tears started to come to Molly's eyes as she continued. "I always dreamed we'd plan your wedding day together, now it is whatever that Malfoy crone decides it to be."

"Mum! I can't believe you called Mrs. Malfoy that." Ginny said with a bit of a giggle in her tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear." Molly replied, although the last thing she looked was sorry. "Why don't you sit down dear and join me for a cuppa before you head back up for bed."

"Alright Mum," Ginny said with a genuine smile on her face. Ginny sat next to her mother at the table and gingerly took a sip from the mug her mother indicated was hers. "Mmmm, warm milk, my favorite."

"I know dear," her mother said with a twinkle in her eye. "It was the only thing that would help you go to sleep when you had a nightmare as a little girl."

Ginny chuckled, "Feeling a bit nostalgic tonight?"

"I guess I do." Molly said with a teary smile on her face. "Have you thought about Professor Dumbledore's idea?"

Ginny nearly dropped the mug from her grip at her mother's words. While Ginny hadn't been focusing all her thoughts on her headmaster's offer, it was never truly too far away from the surface of her thoughts.

After Professor Dumbledore told her the appeal had been rejected, he asked Ginny if she would be interested in helping the Order of the Phoenix from her new position. It was never a secret to the Order that the base of the Pure-blood movement was the Malfoy Manor. However, they never had the perfect opportunity to have a spy on the inside, until now that was. Ginny would be able to gather information while she was at the manor, which she would pass on to Order members when she was at Hogwarts.

It was clear to Ginny if she agreed to spy in Malfoy Manor, there was a chance it may be the last thing she did. While she was a Gryffindor and was proud to do whatever was necessary to help the Order. She was a bit concerned about agreeing to be a spy and risking her life in a completely unknown situation. If Ginny was caught passing on messages, it was almost certain that the Malfoys would kill her and make it look like an accident.

"I have, Mum," Ginny stated, with determination in her voice. "I'm going to do what I can to help the Headmaster."

Her mother had tears once again in her eyes. "I knew that was the decision that you would come to. Ginny, just remember that your family loves you dearly and will be doing what we can to help you. Your father and brothers have been spending a lot of time researching about the betrothal bond used to attempt to find a way out for you."

"I know mum," Ginny replied, "I hope they know how much I appreciate them doing so."

"Oh they do," said Molly before the two Weasley women fell into a comfortable silence.

"Ginny," Molly finally broke the silence several minutes later. "We need to talk about what roles and functions you will need to perform due to your 'marriage'."

"Mum," Ginny said in a drawled out tone, a blush beginning to rise on her face. "We've already had _the talk_."

"That's not what I mean," her mother replied, while placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I was talking about the station you will be taking as the lady of a family."

"The lady?"

"Your marriage will place you as the lady and wife of a powerful pure-blood family. While we may not care about traditions, the Malfoys do." Molly patiently explained to her daughter. "I want to go over some of the things the Malfoys will expect you to do, and some of the tasks you will be forced to perform."

Ginny drank the last sip of her warm milk, as she waited for her mother to continue to tell her about what the future expected out of her.

~*~

**A/N:** Thank you all for trying this story. The chapters will be shorter than in my other fic The Strength of Family. However, I've got several chapters beta-ed and ready to be posted. Look forward to weekly updates of this story as well. Thank you zephy for all your hard work. You know I couldn't do it without you.

As many can tell with this first chapter, this story will be radically different and much darker than my other fic. I came up with the idea for it after reading Deathly Hallows and the way the ministry began persecuting muggle-borns. My thought was what would happen if they found out muggles were abusing wizards? How would the ministry react since Death Eaters are still there pulling the strings? Hope you all join me for the ride.

Foria

**Next Chapter:** The Happiest Day of a Woman's Life


	2. The Happiest Day of a Woman's Life

**Disclaimer:** Marriage should be a good thing. Only a Malfoy could make it a disaster.

**Chapter 2: The Happiest Day of a Woman's Life**

**August 11****th****, 1997**

It was nearly noon on her sixteenth birthday when Ginny Weasley stood among her family saying her final goodbyes to them for who knew how long. She was dressed in creamy white dress robes that belonged to her mother. Actually they were the dress robes her mother wore when she married her father nearly thirty years ago. Her parents never seemed to have a lot of fancy things, however, these dress robes were of the finest quality and Ginny was proud that her parents wanted her to wear them on her wedding day, even under these less than happy circumstances.

The sounds of Molly Weasley's sobs were heard throughout the kitchen of the Burrow. Ginny was preparing to portkey to her new home, when her mother simply broke down once again. She knew this was just as difficult on her parents as it was for her, yet a part of Ginny wished her mother would be a bit stronger. Ginny was a wreck inside, and her mother's reaction was causing her to want to break down as well. Even though the last thing she wanted was to arrive at Malfoy Manor appearing to be weak.

Ginny walked over and gave her mother one last hug. "I love you, Mum. You'll see," Ginny said with a tearful smile on her face. "Everything is going to work out."

Her mother's sobs subsided as she attempted to return Ginny's smile, unfortunately it looked more like a grimace. "Keep yourself safe," Molly eventually croaked out.

With a final look at her large family, Ginny took hold of her trunk and stated the activation word for her portkey. It was time to face her new destiny.

The portkey landed her in a heap in the center of a large hall. Ginny quickly straightened herself as the clicking of heals could be heard coming down the hall. As the man reached her, Ginny realized she was looking straight into the cold blue eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

"It is about time!" Lucius snarled as Ginny took a step back. "Is your family so poor they cannot afford a clock?"

Ginny didn't respond to Lucius's remark which apparently only made him angrier. "Are you too dim to be able to answer your betters?" He spat as Ginny reaffirmed her decision to remain silent.

"Give me your wand, girl," Lucius said with an open hand. Ginny reluctantly took her wand out of the inside pocket of her robe. She had hoped that this wouldn't happen, however, it wasn't unexpected. Taking Ginny's wand, Lucius placed it in his pocket as he turned around and began walking down the hall.

"Come, girl," Lucius said once he realized she was not immediately following him. "We do not have all day. The nuptials are to be performed in three hours."

Lucius led Ginny out of the grand hall and down a series of corridors. After approximately five minutes they reached their destination.

"Narcissa, young Miss Weasley is here for your ministrations." Lucius stated in an almost kind tone. As a striking woman with blonde hair approached, Lucius's eyes began to wonder over Ginny's frame. "I dare say she may not be as hopeless as we originally thought she would be. You will only have two and half hours to work your magic on her."

"That shall be sufficient my Lord," Narcissa simply stated, as she gave her husband a small bow. "Is there anything else you need, my Lord?"

"No, there isn't. I shall see you both later." Lucius swept his eyes over Ginny's frame one more time before leaving the room. Once he left the room her face fixated in a disgusted look as she looked over Ginny.

Narcissa seemed to look down on her for a few more minutes before she impatiently stated, "I need you to remove those robes immediately so you can be fitted for your wedding robes."

Ginny was appalled to think the Malfoys were attempting to control all aspects of her nuptials. "I plan on wearing these robes for my wedding," Ginny said with confidence.

"No, son of mine will marry a woman wearing such filth." Narcissa replied while eyeing Ginny's dress robes. "And you will always refer to me, my husband and your future has either my Lord or my Lady. You are no longer on the farm, dear, you are in civilized society."

Ginny was furious but she attempted to hide her fury. It would do no good to anger the Malfoys now, she would have to learn how to deal with it.

"Let's go now." Narcissa said while clapping her hands in Ginny's face. "Out of those robes, we don't have any time for nonsense."

~*~

Ginny was primped and pampered by Narcissa Malfoy, all the while being looked down upon for being a blood traitor. As soon as Lucius had left, Ginny was practically thrown into the tub were she was bathed with the finest oils to make her skin softer and more delicate.

After she was bathed, a team of three women assisted Ginny in preparing under Narcissa's watchful eye. One styled her hair, while another applied her makeup. The final girl was assigned to maintaining her 'hygiene'. Ginny felt this last girl was highly unnecessary since she always took care of her appearance. However, Ginny's protests did not stop the girl from performing her necessary tasks that included ensuring Ginny's legs were properly groomed for her wedding night.

Her mother's beautiful wedding robes were discarded into her trunk while robes of the softest white silk were forced upon her. The robes the Malfoys had chosen were stunning, however, Ginny refused to give the Malfoys the victory of knowing how much she enjoyed the robes. Instead she kept her head down and refused to comment on them. As stunning as these robes were, she much preferred her mother's wedding robes.

After everything was complete, Ginny looked at herself in the mirror. The woman she saw looking back at her was unrecognizable. Her fiery tresses were curled, her makeup was far too heavy, and the clothing she wore was simply not her. However, her transformation did the trick since Narcissa proclaimed her fit to attend her own wedding ceremony.

That was how Ginny found herself waiting in a small chamber off the side of the Malfoys' ballroom. Her wedding ceremony was about to begin, and she had never been so afraid in her entire life. Ginny knew that a girl's wedding was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Instead Ginny's wedding was anything but.

Not a single member of her family was permitted to attend since they 'refused to see the truth about Ginny and Draco's love'. Honestly, when Ginny figured out whose idea it as to pretend Draco was her secret lover that individual was in for a world of pain.

Unable to sit still any longer, Ginny began to pace the width of the room waiting for her moment of truth. Maybe Professor Dumbledore would be able to pull through for her and find a way to block the union? Or one of her brothers could burst into the room and kill all the Malfoys and rush her away into hiding? Perhaps some dashing hero would prevent her from marrying Draco?

Ginny couldn't help but chuckle at her last scenario. She stopped believing that heroes always save the day when she was a little girl. When Ginny learned that Harry Potter, the savoir of the wizarding world was hurt by the muggles that were supposed to protect him she stopped believing that people could get their fairy tale ending.

"I'm glad to see you are in high spirits." The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy filled the air. "It is time for you to make your entrance."

~*~

The march up the aisle was one of the slowest experiences in her life. As Ginny looked at the guests who were staring at her she barely recognized anyone in the crowd. The only person she was sure she recognized was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

As she passed Minister Fudge she heard him whispering to Lucius Malfoy. "Why didn't any of the Weasleys attend this ceremony? I was sure they would turn up to support their only daughter's union."

"I'm sorry, Minister," Lucius's snide voice seemed to carry to her ears, even though she had moved away from where the two wizards were sitting. "It appears that Arthur Weasley and his family refuses to admit the love their daughter and my son share. They seemed to have decided to protest this ceremony as a form of condemning their daughter's choice."

Ginny's blood was boiling. How dare that despicable man insult her family in such a way? She knew for a fact that her family attempted to gain access to this ceremony but they were denied permission to enter Malfoy Manor from Lucius Malfoy himself.

Ginny took a deep calming breath before she turned to look at Draco. There was no point in working herself into a frenzy. There was nothing she could do. She could either die or be at the Malfoys' mercy.

Draco walked towards her at in an excruciating slow pace. It seemed to Ginny as though the entire Malfoy family was attempting to prolong the misery she was facing.

As Draco reached Ginny, he leaned into whisper to her, "I'm going to have so much fun showing you want a real man can do tonight."

Ginny's entire body shuddered at the mere suggestion of what could occur that evening. Forcing back her tears, Ginny held her head high as Draco walked with her the last few steps to the minister performing the last phases of the binding.

"Welcome all to this special occasion." The minister said as he began the ceremony. "We are here today to witness the final stages of the bonding between Draco Lucius Malfoy to his chosen Ginevra Molly Weasley."

Ginny couldn't stop herself from closing her eyes at this point, and started to think of anything that would drown out the minister's voice. Perhaps if she ignored the ceremony it would prevent the bond from completing?

But no matter what Ginny tried she wasn't able to completely shut out the voice of the man sealing her fate.

"At this time I shall ask each of the participants of this union to show me their left-hand wrists." The minister continued, as Ginny and Draco extended their hands towards the gentleman.

"Ginevra shows the proper symbol of her participation of the bond," the minister stated before a shocked look overcame his face on inspection of Draco's wrist. "This can't be," the man muttered under his breath before he turned away from the onlookers.

"Is there a problem?" Draco asked in a snide tone as Ginny strained looked towards the wrist that Draco had left exposed. Unfortunately she wasn't able to see anything.

"Yes," the minister clearly responded, as he began to look through an old tome that he had placed on a table near to where Ginny and Draco were standing. "This union cannot go forward."

"What do you mean?" The cold voice of Lucius Malfoy silenced the muttering that had begun at the minister's last statement. "My son and Ginevra may have performed this ceremony behind my back-"

But whatever Lucius was about to say was cut off by the minister. "Your son and Miss Weasley never performed the beginning of the bonding ceremony."

"How dare you?" An enraged Lucius Malfoy asked the minister.

"I dare because I know," the elderly minister continued, as Ginny's hope that this would all sort itself out began to rise again. "Your son never performed the ceremony to bond himself to Miss Weasley."

"Yes, he did," Lucius yelled as he began to march to where the minister was standing. "He and Ginevra performed the ceremony together."

No matter how much Ginny wanted to speak out against Lucius's claims that she participated in the bonding ritual she could not speak out against him. A sudden chill crossed her skin as she considered the possibility that she could be under a curse.

"If your son performed the ritual then he is incompetent." The minister continued even though Lucius's pale skin had taken on an alarming hue of red. "Your son's blood was not used in the bonding ritual. There is no mark on his wrist."

All argument seemed to drain away from Lucius. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," the minister replied. "The Book of Records only records what families the bonded pair come from. Nowhere does it say Draco Malfoy bonded with Ginevra Weasley. The book states 'a male of the House of Malfoy bonded with the female of the House of Weasley; bond must be completed on or before the 11th of August, 1997."

Everyone was silent. Ginny kept trying to process what this could mean, but it facts still would not add up in her head.

"Lord Malfoy, may I see your wrist?" The minister hesitantly asked. Ginny felt her heart drop out of her chest at what the minister's question meant.

"I assure you…" Lucius began but once again he was cut off by the minister.

"I only ask so we can rule you out as the participant of the bond." The minister replied. "I am not insinuating that you are the match."

With a huff Lucius showed his left wrist to the minister as Ginny's heart leap to her throat. Lucius Malfoy was a cruel man who was already married. What would mean for Ginny of his blood was used in the ritual?

"Lucius Malfoy, along with his son Draco are excluded as the bond mate of Miss Ginevra Weasley, due to the lack of the mark of proof of bond." The minister said in an official tone to the assembled before turning to Lucius. "Lord Malfoy, do you have any wards?"

~*~

Nearly a half hour passed before Lucius returned to the room. The majority of the guests had become impatient and started talking amongst themselves. But once Lucius returned they all quickly stopped.

Lucius was no longer the smug confident man he had been throughout the day. If Ginny were to wager a guess she would say he actually appeared a bit intimidated and scared. It could have been due to the fact that all of Lucius's lies had been unwound in regards to the reason she was betrothed to a member of his household. Or it could have been due to the dark haired man that was following him.

The man following Lucius up the aisle was intriguing to Ginny. He was slightly taller than Lucius, but he couldn't have been more than six feet tall. He had incredibly dark, messy hair and his emotionless face had the coldest green eyes she had ever seen. While his appearance did nothing to reassure her that she was better off with this man instead of Draco, the one thing it did was provide her a bit of revenge considering the Malfoys plans in regards to her were completely ruined.

"I've found Ginevra's bond mate," Lucius said in a quiet voice. There was no way for the guests in the back to hear what he had said this time.

"By Merlin," the minister exclaimed. "Is that…"

But the rest of the minister's question went unasked when Lucius's nod prevented the man from finishing his question.

Now that the man was closer Ginny attempted to get a better look at him. The only thing she was able to see was that his clothing was as nice, if not nicer, than the robes Narcissa had given her. Also, from the man's new location she was able to see a light jagged scar that ran from right under his left eye down to the tip of his jaw.

When the man noticed her look at him, she quickly looked away. She was about to marry a stranger that she did not know anything about. Of course she was curious about who he was, wasn't he interested in her as well?

"Well, then," the minster began, bring Ginny back to the matter at hand. "It is time for us to complete the bonding ritual." However, the confident tone the minister had before was gone. "Are you both prepared to finish this bond?"

"It must be completed to keep her alive," the deep voice of the man answered. "So, let's not hesitate any longer."

Ginny was shocked at the man's words. If he had decided not to come forward to finish this ceremony she would be dead. She was in this man, her soon to be husband's debt.

The man exposed his left wrist to the minister and Ginny could clearly see the man had the same marks on his wrist that she did. There was no doubt that he was the one she had been magically betrothed to.

"Please begin, minister," the man stated startling at the minister.

"Right," the startled minister tried to regain his bearings. "We have been gathered here to complete the most sacred of bonding rituals, between this man and this woman who have devoted their lifeblood to their union."

Ginny had to hold back a snort. It should have been clear to every person in the room that she and the man had not devoted anything towards their 'union', that this had been forced upon the two of them. But no one spoke up to counter the words of the minister. It appeared that the minister was merely reciting a script that had been written for their type of a union regardless to whether or not it was true.

The minister's next words were in a language Ginny did not understand. She supposed the language must have been Latin since it did have some sounds that were semi-familiar to spells she remembered from school.

After several minutes of the minister led Ginny and the man forward and handed each of them a long thin candle. As the man continued to chant in Latin, Ginny and the dark haired man were motioned to put their candles together to light a single larger candle.

Once the candle was lit it morphed into a chalice. The minister continued to chant as a liquid suddenly appeared inside the chalice. Ginny was a bit startled by these recent pieces of magic, especially the appearance of the potion in the chalice. No one had informed her that such pieces of magic would perform.

"Now," the minister whispered once his chanting was concluded. "I need the two of you to take turns drinking the potion within the chalice until it is gone."

With those words, the minister handed the chalice to the man, her husband, who took the chalice and held it to her lips for her to take a sip. In return he handed her the chalice and she returned the action that he had performed for her. The action of them providing drink for one another continued until the rest of the potion was gone.

"The ceremony is now complete," the minister's voice rang throughout the room. "May I present to you the new Lord and Lady Potter of the House of Malfoy."

~*~

A/N: Like I said before, short chapters so I'm posting the first two at the same time. Especially since the first chapter is merely setting up the universe. The second is where we learn what is exactly in store for Ginny. A big thanks to zephy. Please review I'd love to hear feedback on this chapter as well as the first.

Foria

**Next Chapter:** No One Suspects the House-Elf


	3. No One Suspects the HouseElf

**Disclaimer:** Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one suspects the house-elf.

**Chapter 3: No One Suspects the House-Elf**

**August 11****th****, 1997**

"Yes, thank you all for coming." The nervous voice of Lucius Malfoy rang through the room. "Due to the unforeseen events, we will have to cancel the reception. I'm sure you all understand."

The guest began murmuring to one another as they exited the wedding hall. In all honesty Lucius was probably better off if he kept the reception. The rumor mill was going to crucify him either way the next day.

Harry doubted that anyone else in the room noticed exactly how fearful Lucius actually was. Yes, everyone would have known about the inconsistency in Lucius's story and the actuality of the events of the evening. Anyone could have guessed that Lucius was nervous about the fallout to his political capital. But only Harry could notice Lucius's distress that his plan for Draco failed, and instead, Harry was involved in events that lead him out of his chambers.

"You," Lucius's sharp voice broke through Harry's thoughts. A Muggle-born witch with bushy curly brown hair, Harry's constant companion, responded to Lucius's call. "Take the girl to your Lord's chambers. Have her wait for your Lord there."

"As you wish, Lord Malfoy," was Sissy's only response. Sissy bowed to Lucius before she approached his new wife to lead her out of the room.

His wife's wide eyes looked around the room in shock, as she blindly followed Sissy. This entire day had to be one change after another for her. First she was about to marry her beloved, the idiot Draco, and become Lady Malfoy. But by the end of the day she married a complete stranger and became a nobody. Taking one last glance at her retreating back, Harry vowed to make this change as easy as he could for his wife. It wasn't like any of this was her fault.

As Harry turned and glanced around the room he quickly realized that the majority of the people had exited through the back room. They were all most likely idly gossiping about the recent turn in events for the Malfoy family as they left. Once the room was cleared, Lucius began pacing the room.

"How did you do this?" Lucius yelled as he stopped pacing in front of Harry.

"I have no idea what you are referring to," Harry said keeping his calm demeanor.

"How did you change the ritual?" Lucius began to scream at the top of his lungs. "How did you take the whore away from my son?"

Now Harry may have never met his wife prior to their wedding, but she was now his. Therefore, she was his to take care of and defend.

"You will not speak of my wife in that manner." Harry calmly and coldly informed Lucius.

Lucius took a step back, as if realizing for the first time since he stopped pacing exactly who he had been speaking to.

"Of course," Lucius hesitantly replied. "I dare say my anger got the best of me. What I meant to ask was why you chose to have the young girl for your own."

"For the last time," Harry stated in a cold voice. "I had no knowledge of the events that transpired resulting in my nuptials."

Lucius, his eyes still showing nervousness turned to a small short man. "What do you know of this mix up?"

"Lord Malfoy," the small man squeaked, "I performed the ritual properly. I followed the steps the correct way and I used all the proper ingredients. I can't tell you why it didn't work as planned."

"Really," Lucius said in a calm controlled tone. "Then why isn't my son enjoying his wedding reception right now?"

The small man started to shake. "I don't know…" the man whimpered.

"Well, let's start from the beginning," Lucius snarled. "How did you obtain my son's blood while he was at Hogwarts?"

"I sent a House-elf to collect in secret the blood sample," the man replied, unable to look Lucius in his eyes.

"Which one?" Lucius asked in a falsely calm voice.

"Dobby," the man whispered.

Harry controlled his features to ensure his face would not give away his surprise. That had to be the reason why he was now married. Dobby was fanatically devoted to him, and ever since Lucius ordered Dobby to only care for Harry, Dobby believed that Harry was his master, not the Malfoys.

"Dobby," the angry voice of Lucius Malfoy rang through the air.

"Yous be calling Dobby, Lord Malfoy?" The long eared elf asked as soon as he popped in.

"Yes, Dobby," Lucius replied in a more subdued tone. "What were your orders from Potion Master Avery in regards to obtaining my son's blood for a potion?

"Potion Master Avery asked Dobby to retrieve blood from his young master," Dobby said in a slightly confused tone. "Dobby did as he was told and obtained the blood of his young master for his potion."

"That will be all, Dobby," Lucius commanded before Dobby popped away. "It appears that the sample you were given was correct, Avery. Now how did this go wrong?"

"I don't know," the man, Avery, cried as Lucius snapped his fingers. Two men suddenly stood on either side of Avery and pulled the collapsed man back to his feet.

"Take his wand, and show him my hospitality in the dungeon." Lucius said with a cold sneer on his face. "Avery, we'll get to the bottom of this one way or another."

Harry made his face impassive once again, attempting to deflect attention from him as the room began to empty.

Lucius turned to Harry with a frown on his face. "I swear, if I learn that you had anything to do with this…"

But Lucius's threat was not meant to be finished as Harry cut him off. "You won't learn that I had anything to do with it because I told you I didn't." Harry quickly glanced around the room to ensure they were the only two people still present. "There is one issue I must discuss with you though."

"And what would that be," the hesitation was clearly reflected in Lucius's eyes.

"You confiscated my wife's wand when she arrived," Harry began in a very cold and different tone. "Now, this may have been acceptable to Draco, however, I would like to have the wand returned to her as soon as possible."

Lucius had the audacity to laugh in Harry's face. "It's a safety thing," Lucius sneered when he stopped laughing. "Your wife's wand was taken away to protect the members of this household. For all we know she is insane and a danger to us all. For the time being, I'll be holding on to her wand until we know she can be trusted not to harm us."

Harry had to bite back his initial response after he heard Lucius's silver tongued reply. Trust Lucius to be able to come up with a response that made some sense in response to him doing something that should be criminal. No wizard or witch should ever be separated from their wand.

Taking several deep breaths, Harry attempted to ignore Lucius's taunting smile. There were going to be many more battles waged between the two of them over the coming months. The issue of his wife's wand was not worth the effort. Harry could always find a replacement wand for her when Lucius's back was turned.

"There is nothing more for you here," Lucius's voice broke through Harry's thoughts about plans to obtain a good wand for his wife. "You should return to your chambers and entertain your wife." Lucius's voice took on an entirely too perky tone for Harry's liking. "You do know that if you do not consummate the marriage before sundown, your wife," Lucius spit out the word as if it were an insult, "will still die?"

Harry silently thanked Merlin for Lucius Malfoy's need to gloat in other people's pain. Had Lucius not mentioned this, Harry would have never known.

~*~

The moment Harry walked back into his chambers he could feel the wards which imprisoned him snap back into place. Lucius was desperate earlier to solve the matter of the blotched betrothal ritual or he would have never released the wards which kept Harry in his prison. It was a bit of a luxury to be able to access another part of the manor for a change.

Looking around the main sitting room/dining room Harry was unable to find exactly what he desired. All four doors off of the main room were closed and there was no indication which door had Sissy behind it. Staring at his bedroom door, Harry knew he had to speak with his new wife, of whom he suspected was waiting in his personal bedroom for his arrival, but first he needed to speak with Sissy about the changes in their lives. This unexpected marriage had now changed everything.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Sissy walked out from behind the door which led to her personal room. The look on her face clearly reflected her thoughts on the matter of his brash decision to go through with the marriage ceremony. Harry couldn't help but wince and prepare for the lecture he knew he was about to endure.

"My Lord your actions this afternoon were completely foolish," Sissy's brisk, no nonsense voice clearly began. "I do not know what you hoped to achieve by going through with your unplanned marriage to this Pure-blood," Sissy spat the term as if it were a dirty word, "witch."

Knowing from his personal experience it was best to cut Sissy's tirade off before she got into a stride Harry placed a pacifying hand on her shoulder before he spoke. "Sis, you know I had no choice in this. If I refused to marry her she would have died."

"She is one of them," Sissy said in a low voice, her eyes never leaving Harry's face. "She wanted to marry Draco from what I was able to learn and if that man Avery didn't blotch the ritual she would be the future Lady Malfoy, not…"

But Harry had heard enough and raised a hand in a jester to silence Sissy. "Avery did not mess up the ritual." Harry knew Sissy would never betray his trust by telling Lucius what he had figured out during the interrogation of Dobby.

"Then how did that woman end up betrothed to you instead of Draco?" Sissy's curiosity was clearly reflected in her face.

"Dobby," Harry called out, without immediately answering Sissy's question. Her irritation was clearly pointed out to Harry when she flicked his ear.

"Yes, my Lord, yous be calling Dobby?" The young elf, and oldest friend of Harry Potter popped into the room.

"Thank you for coming so quickly Dobby," the elf blushed at Harry's compliment. "There is something I need you to do for me. This is of the up most importance."

"Anything for Harry Potter sir, my most young and perfect master," Dobby began to gush.

"If anyone asks you the name of your 'young master', 'young lord' or just simply 'master' or 'lord' you are to lie." Harry said very quickly. The look of recognition in Sissy's eyes told him she figured out exactly how Harry ended up married as well. "You are to tell them your masters are the Malfoys."

"Of course, Harry Potter sir," the elf immediately said before he seemed to hesitate.

"Is there something wrong, Dobby?" Harry asked knowing the House-elf most likely had a question but was hesitant to actually to voice his concern.

"Yes, Harry Potter sir, Dobby has a question about your most excellent order." Harry had to roll his eyes at the elf's wording. Sissy would be likely to yell at him for treating Dobby like a slave verses an individual later, but this was for Dobby's protection.

"What is wrong with it?" Harry asked in a controlled tone.

"It is just that Dobby wonders, sir, why Harry Potter, sir, does not want Dobby telling the world that Harry Potter is Dobby's master?" The elf's eyes were barely hiding the glistening tears that threatened to spill.

"Dobby," Harry began, the tone of his voice always tended to soften when he was dealing with the elf. "It is not that I do not want the world to know that I am you master. I merely want to protect you. I've told you this before; it is not safe to be my elf at this time. When things are safe, then you can tell the world you are my elf, but you can't regrettably until that time."

"Yes, sir, Harry Potter sir," the elf said before disappearing. Harry had a feeling that regardless of his words the little elf's feelings were hurt.

"I hope you know what you are doing," Sissy's voice the silence that fell over the room after Dobby's sudden departure.

"I know enough," Harry simply replied, eyeing the door to his room where his wife waited.

"I have prepared my room for your new wife to stay in," Sissy said simply.

"You did not need to do that." Harry immediately replied. "Where will you go?"

Sissy smiled, "I will share with Bella. Your wife will need her space now that she has been forced to stay with the likes of us."

"Sissy," Harry said in a warning tone. "We know nothing about her…"

"Precisely," Sissy cut Harry off. "We know nothing about her, so we shouldn't trust her."

~*~

Harry walked into the master bedroom with his head held high and his face expressionless. His wife was sitting nervously on the bed her hands clutched in her lap. Her fiery red hair was covering her face, blocking her eyes from his view.

Harry sat down on the bed next to her and took a deep breath before he began to speak. "I know your day hasn't turned out the way you planned. You were expecting to marry the man of your choice, your beloved. Instead you were forced to marry me. For that I am truly sorry. The only thing I can do for you is to propose that we both fulfill our obligations in this marriage, while still being free to do what we each please. That way you would still be free to be with the young Lord Draco."

After finishing his prepared speech, Harry finally looked up to see his wife's reaction. He had been expecting to see her joyous or excited at the prospect that he was willing to let her still see Draco. However, what he found was something he was not expecting. Her creamy skin had taken an extremely pale tone while her eyes widened in fear. Something was wrong with this situation.

Since his wife did not reply, Harry spoke once again. "Is this not what you want? I was under the presumption that you were in love with Draco."

"No," her voice choked out. "No, I've never directly spoken to Draco till the ceremony today. I don't know him let alone love him. I was forced here against my will, taken from my family to be married to a stranger."

Harry silently contemplated what the woman before him claimed. While it was no stretch of the imagination to see Lucius cook up some scheme for Draco to marry the Pure-blood witch of their choosing, the only thing Harry didn't understand was why her?

When word had reached the occupants of his household about Draco's upcoming nuptials, Harry had reached out to all of his contacts on the outside to learn as much information about the situation as possible. From what Harry could learn Ginevra Weasley was a Pure-blood witch who came from a very poor family.

There was no evidence that there would be any political or capital gain from a union between her and Draco. Yet, for some reason Lucius chose this witch to be his son's wife, so there had to be something that Harry had yet to see about her.

"You won't force me to be with him, will you?" Ginny's hesitant question broke Harry's train of thought. He could tell how scared she was by the subject manner by the way her voice trembled.

"Of course not," Harry snapped. "I would never force anyone to do something that was against their will, especially not my wife. If you do not wish to ever see Draco Malfoy while you are here, then he will have to go through my dead body to get to you."

Ginevra had initially jumped due to the tone of Harry's voice; however, by the time he had finished he could see that there was a small smile on her beautiful face. "Thank you," was his wife's simple yet adequate response.

"Yes, well," Harry began to change the subject. His embarrassment over this new subject matter was evident from his voice. "There is one last thing that needs to occur for the marriage bond to be complete. Unfortunately, we need to complete this requirement before sundown or…"

"I'll die," Ginny simply said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Correct," Harry answered, unable to look his wife in the face. He had no idea if she had experience in what needed to occur, but he definitely did not. "We have approximately three and a half hours till sundown we could-" But Harry was cut off again, before he could finish his sentence.

"If it is all the same to you, I'd prefer to get this all over with now." Ginny said while Harry was still unable to look her in the eyes. "I'd rather not take any chances with the time restrictions, considering I would die if we got it wrong."

"Alright," Harry calmly agreed as he stood up, although his thumping heart betrayed his nervousness. As he reached his hand over to gently push his wife down to lay on the bed before him.

~*~

When it was all over the man redressed and left the room as calmly as he entered it earlier. Ginny had no idea how he could remain so calm about this whole ordeal. They just met mere hours before and now they were wed and bedded.

Not only that but he had made a proposal to allow her the freedom to be with Draco, the person her husband thought she loved. From the little that she knew about her husband he seemed like a nice enough individual, however there was plenty she did not know for sure about him.

When the minister announced earlier that day they were Lord and Lady Potter she nearly passed out. As far as she was aware there was only one remaining member of the House of Potter, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and the person whose muggle living arrangements resulted in all the Muggle Raised Protection Laws.

Ginny was well aware that her speculation on her husband's identity could simply be the work of her over active imagination, since he could merely be a Muggle-born with the last name Potter. However, he was the right age to be Harry Potter, and quite frankly, what were the odds that there could be two muggle raised, magical Potters in the world with no relation? She may not be completely sure of her husband's identity but she had a pretty good idea on who he may be. The only problem was she never got a clear view of his forehead to know for sure.

As the door creaked open Ginny hastily wrapped a sheet around her body to protect her modesty. While it could be her husband returning, she could not be sure.

"My Lady," the voice of the young woman who brought her to her husband's chambers relaxed Ginny at once. The woman had been so kind to her.

"Your bedchambers are ready, my Lady. Please allow me to take you there and assist you in whatever you need." The woman had her eyes averted as Ginny quickly covered herself with her robes.

"Please, what did I tell you the last time we spoke." Ginny said with as much confidence as she could muster as the two of them walked out of the room, "call me Ginny."

"I'm sorry my Lady," the girl replied instantly. "But as I told you before, it is disrespectful for a person of my station to refer to you as anything other than my Lady."

"That is nonsense," Ginny practically snapped. She was not used to any special treatment and there was no way she was instantly better than the girl before her due to the fact she was forced to marry Lord Potter. "Well what do I call you? You never told me what your name is."

The woman stopped and turned to Ginny in front of a door across the sitting room from where they started. "My name is Mudblood," The woman said coldly.

"That is not a name," Ginny huffed. "That is merely a derogatory term."

"I have no other name," the friendliness was completely absent from the woman's voice. "When I came here Lord Malfoy called me Mudblood, and that is what I am known as."

Ginny numbly followed the woman into the room. She was shocked speechless at the blatant verbal abuse this woman constantly suffered. From her change of tone, the woman had to have known for a while how awful that name was.

"I took the liberty of drawing a bath for you," the woman began. "I thought it was prudent due to what needed to take place."

"Thank you," Ginny replied as she walked towards the door the girl indicated in the room.

"My Lady," the woman began hesitantly.

"Yes," Ginny replied turning back towards the woman.

"My Lord is a good and kind man." The woman stated looking down at her shoes. "He would never take advantage of anyone no matter what the situation was. Please do not look upon him unkindly due to the actions he had to take to complete your nuptials."

Before Ginny could form a response the woman had left her chambers and Ginny was alone to contemplate the aftermath of the day.

~*~

**A/N:** Well here is chapter 3. A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed and to zephy and swanpride for their awesome beta-ing. The next chapter will answer a few more questions that are left about this story's universe in general, such as where's Voldemort?

I've started a yahoo group to discuss my fics and Harry Potter in general since there have been some great discussions started by my reviews that I think a few people might be interested in joining in. Feel free to join: http://groups .yahoo .com /group/forias_corner/ Just remove the spaces in the url or go to my profile and click on the website info.

Foria

**Next Chapter:** Dreams, Conflicts and Rumors


	4. Dreams, Conflicts and Rumors

**Disclaimer:** The wonderful JKR owns Harry Potter, I am merely playing with her creations and will return them when I'm done. Possibly...

**Chapter 4: Dreams, Conflicts and Rumors**

**August 11****th****, 1997**

Harry began tossing and turning as the moonlight lit the bedroom. It was one of those days where nothing, not even his sleep was going to go Harry's way.

~*~

"_Lucius," the hiss-like voice escaped from Voldemort's lips. "Who have you brought before me?"_

_Lord Voldemort's most loyal followers were spread out across the throne room. They had been all called together to give their Lord their status on their most recent assignments. Since this was a meeting of his inner circle, most of whom were former classmates and colleges of his, Voldemort allowed the meeting to have a more laid-back feel than a meeting of all the Death Eaters._

_Lucius Malfoy, a young man in his early twenties, walked forward to stand before his Lord. He was dressed, in the finest robes to show his stature over the other followers. While most members of the inner circle were his old classmates, Lucius was not and had only recently proven his undying loyalty to the cause which granted him a position in the inner circle._

_Bound by Lucius's feet was a young girl that could not be more than fourteen years old. She had curly blonde hair that was knotted and frizzy. Her body was covered in burses and blood, and Voldemort was unable to get a clear view of her face since she kept her head bent low towards the stone floor._

"_My Lord," Lucius's aristocratic drawl rang through the ceremony room. "This girl is the youngest daughter of Rafael Greengrass. As we promised, due to Rafael Greengrass's refusal to join our cause, we have taken his daughter, Mary."_

"_Excellent, Lucius," Voldemort hissed as he chuckled at the thought of anyone trying to defy his wishes. Nobody was safe from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. "Well, Miss Greengrass, what do you think of your daddy's decision to defy Lord Voldemort?"_

_The girl at Lucius's feet just started to shake and sob. Various Death Eaters who were stationed throughout the room began to laugh at the girl's reaction. While it was not surprising for people to be afraid of the most powerful wizard in the world, it never ended well when they showed Lord Voldemort their fear._

"_Perhaps you need us to teach you manners, girl." Voldemort announced to the room at large. He was growing quite amused at the jeers his followers were shouting at the young girl. And it was hard to ignore Lucius's excitement at the idea of "teaching" the girl some manners. A smirk crossed Harry's face as he had a sudden exciting idea. _

"_Lucius," Voldemort called, "What is the most important thing for a pureblooded witch?"_

"_Their virginity, my Lord," Lucius replied with a smirk spreading across his face. Voldemort's trusted follower seemed to understand exactly where he was going with this line of thought._

"_And why is that?" Voldemort asked more for the benefit of the girl on the floor. He enjoyed torturing his prisoners mentally as well as physically. By taunting her and letting her know what they were going to do to her, and why, would make the experience much more painful for the girl before him._

"_Because, my Lord, a pureblooded witch is worth trash if they are not a virgin on their wedding night," Lucius smugly announced. "No decent pureblood would marry a girl who wasn't a virgin maiden on their wedding night."_

_Laughter rang through the room as the rest of the bumbling fools began to catch on. _

"_So what would happen if this pitiful girl's virginity was forcefully taken?" Voldemort hissed as the girl on the floor's sobbing began to get louder and clearer._

"_Please… don't… please," the girl began to sob out, begging for mercy._

"_Silence," Lucius roared at the girl. "You will only speak when you are spoken to. Such disrespect towards our Lord will not be tolerated!" _

_As soon as he finished those words, Lucius kicked the girl in front of him directly in the face. Her scream of pain echoed throughout the room, as the blood began to pool on the floor in front of the girl. He must have broken her nose. Voldemort couldn't help but become excited at the sound of the girl's pain._

"_My Lord," Lucius said while stepping forward and giving a little bow, "I apologize for the blood-traitor's behavior."_

_Voldemort merely waved his hand to motion for Lucius to return to answering his previous question._

"_If this blood-traitor's," Lucius spat the word, "virginity was forcefully taken. Not only would the man currently betrothed to her break off the agreement, but no man would ever desire a whore. She would most likely remain a spinster for the rest of her life if she wasn't just shunned from the magical community all together."_

_The girl's sobbing continued to grow. This was the perfect way to destroy Rafael Greengrass for defying Lord Voldemort. Defile the man's daughter and cause her to become a social outcast would bring her family's good name down with her. Yes, this was the best outcome._

"_Well then, Lucius," Voldemort hissed out in amusement as the girl began to struggle against her bonds. "Why don't you show this blood-traitor what we do to her kind? Then we can decide her ultimate fate."_

_The rest of the room began to snigger and laugh at loud as the girl's screaming and begging began once again. Lucius pulled out his wand and cast a paralyzing hex at the girl which immediately stopped her struggling as two other Death Eaters conjured a table in the center of the room._

"_Why don't you do it for us all to see?" Rodolphus Lestrange called out and the rest of the men in the room cheered in agreement._

_Lucius turned towards Voldemort for permission. Voldemort had no reason to force Lucius to do this in private, so he nodded his head in accent to the deed._

"_My Lord," the sultry voice of Bellatrix purred out from beside him. "Perhaps while the men have their fun, we could have our own?"_

_Turning towards his most devoted and faithful follower, Voldemort could not help but notice that she had opened her robes to give him a perfect view of her ample chest. Bellatrix had to be the most beautiful and desirable woman under his command. It didn't hurt that she was an amazingly powerful witch either._

"_Let's go my chambers, my pet," Voldemort hissed as the girl's screaming began once again. Someone must have lifted the petrifaction charm as he and Bellatrix walked out of the chamber. _

~*~

Harry jumped out of bed with a start. Walking over to the window, Harry opened it to allow the cool breeze to cover his clammy skin. It had been years since he had his last dream of Lord Voldemort's memories. Harry took deep calming breaths to center his mind and body.

Those dreams never lead to anything good. He didn't want to have them, and he hated everything he saw in those dreams or rather visions. He knew they were more than dreams. The events he saw had really happened in the past. The way Lucius would respond to the mere mention of some of the events was proof enough.

Harry had been having these dreams on and off ever since Lucius had given him that blasted diary when he was nine years-old. The diary that contained the memories of Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort, which possessed and tried to kill Harry in an attempt to be reborn in a new body. Nobody, especially Lucius, knew why Tom's plan didn't work, and Harry was still alive while Voldemort's diary was destroyed.

From what Harry and Sissy overheard, the best theory the blood purists could come up with claimed whatever protected Harry from the diary was the same thing that protected Harry from the killing curse as a child. In short, they had no idea as to what caused Harry to survive the diary's possession. However, Lord Voldemort was still gone and Harry was alive and semi-well.

Harry, on the other hand, felt there was something more sinister behind how he had survived the diary's possession. Some of the memories Harry experienced were from long past the point that Voldemort created his diary, there was no way those memories should have been included in it's pages. Harry felt there just had to be something else wrong with him.

But what had triggered this particular dream? Harry pondered the million dollar question as he continued to stare out of the window of his prison. As he did so the memories of the last twenty-four hours raced through his mind: the ceremony, the arguments, and of course Ginevra.

At the mere thought of his wife, Harry's stomach instantly dropped. It was Ginevra, what he had done to her was the trigger of these memories. He had forced himself on her, just as Lucius had forced himself on that girl in the memory. Ginevra would never be able to marry the man of her dreams due to him.

She had made it quite clear the Malfoys had spun a web of lies in regards to her relationship with young Draco. But now she had been forced to wed and bed him and she had lost her free will, as a pureblooded witch in the magical society. It was all his fault. He did that to her.

Harry was no fool. He knew he would never be free to step a foot outside of Malfoy Manor again. He was trapped in his cage until the Malfoys discovered a way to kill him once and for all. Once that happened he was as good as dead, and Ginevra would be a widow, if she was able to escape the same fate that he was destined for.

By marrying Ginevra he didn't save her life. He merely delayed her death. Whether it was for days, weeks, months or perhaps a year or more he wasn't sure. All Harry knew was that the Malfoys were growing bolder as each day passed. The fact that the Malfoys even attempted to force the Weasley girl into a marriage with their son was further evidence of it. Which meant Harry's chance of finding freedom was growing slimmer by the day.

Knowing that sleep would not find him again that evening, Harry prepared to dress for the day. He needed to step up his research into a way to break free of his prison.

**August 12****th****, 1997**

"Weasley, it's a shame about what happened at Malfoy Manor yesterday," the annoying voice of Auror Dawlish broke the silence in the small office shared by Arthur Weasley and his subordinate Perkins.

Arthur knew that several of his co-workers at the Ministry of Magic would be tactless enough to bring up the subject of his family tragedy. The only thing was Arthur did not plan on it starting at nine in the morning. It seemed that bad news traveled quickly, and an issue one did not care to speak of in public was all the rage.

Taking a calming breath, Arthur responded to the auror in front of him. "Yes, we were all deeply saddened by the Wizengamot's decision. However, we all uphold the law, and respect it for the time being. We all just hope we will hear from Ginny soon about how she is doing."

Dawlish started to laugh, "That wasn't what I was talking about, Weasley. I was there yesterday incase you want to know what happened during the nuptials."

Even though Arthur hated to admit to a creep like Dawlish that he had no clue what happened with his daughter's wedding ceremony, the knowledge he would gain about her wellbeing easily out weighted his pride.

"Please," Arthur responded in as kind of a tone that he could muster, "share what you know."

"Your daughter didn't marry the Malfoy boy," Dawlish said with a smirk. "Seems there was a screw up when the initial binding ceremony was performed."

Arthur's heart stopped when he heard the news. He had honestly thought it couldn't get any worse. Now he was easily proven wrong. At least before they had an idea of where Ginny was and what may be happening to her, but to not know, that was pure torture.

"Who did she…" Arthur left the question unfinished; he couldn't even vocalize the terrible words.

"Don't know for sure," Dawlish said while scratching his head, "didn't know who the bloke was, only that he was a part of the Malfoys' household. Perhaps they said his name was Peters? He must have been one of the muggle-born the Malfoys took in. Too bad the Malfoys' home-school all of their muggleborns since it doesn't seem like your daughter will be going back to Hogwarts anytime soon."

Arthur's heart fell to his stomach as he distractedly thanked Dawlish for the information and turned back to the work he had in front of him. All he could think about was his little girl and what terrible things she must be going through. Even though Arthur had come to accept that Ginny would be forced to marry Draco, he was relieved that she would not be married to him. However, now she was married to a muggle-born in the Malfoy household, and that was truly terrifying to Arthur.

It was quite apparent to most of the wizarding society that the Malfoys had no respect for muggle-born witches and wizards. Now his little girl's safety was linked to this muggle-born and his status in the Malfoy home, it was enough to chill Arthur to the core. For all he knew, the Malfoys would kill Ginny and her husband, then tell the world that they had moved away.

Not more than ten minutes after Dawlish had left the door to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office once again crashed open.

"Weasley," bellowed Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. "What on earth did you do?"

"Minister," Arthur replied, while Perkins looked on dumbstruck. "What do you mean?"

"What did you do to cause this tragedy to befall your daughter and young Draco Malfoy's nuptials?" Continuing without giving Arthur a chance to speak, "Everyone in the ministry knows you and the rest of your family did not support their love, but to do something to cause your daughter misery is far below anything anyone suspected of the Weasley family. Even with the legendary rivalry between the Weasley and Malfoy families, it is hard to believe a Weasley would sink so low."

Arthur's jaw dropped. He knew it was useless to tell the minister that his daughter had not liked Draco, let alone want to marry the boy. But to think that he, Arthur Weasley, father of seven who loved all of his children would do something so evil. It was just shameful than anyone would think that of him.

"Sir, no one in my family did anything to hinder Ginny's nuptials," except file numerous appeals with the Wizengamot, thought Arthur. "I had no idea that Ginny had not married young Mister Malfoy, until Auror Dawlish informed me a few minutes ago."

"Truly?" asked the Minister.

"Truly, sir" Arthur replied. "And I highly doubt anyone in my family would sink as low as to purposely harm Ginevra in an attempt to prevent a marriage between a Weasley and a Malfoy."

"No one in your family placed a curse on the union?" Fudge continued to fish for a possible explanation.

"Absolutely not," Arthur evenly replied. "Ginny is the lifeline of our family. If she wished to marry Malfoy, then her brothers and my wife and I would support her regardless of our personal feelings for the boy's family." Although Arthur personally considered, he wouldn't put it past some of his sons, such as the twins, to do something like this since they knew Ginny did not want it.

"Well, if you're sure," a flustered Fudge replied and Arthur privately wondered how much money Lucius Malfoy paid him to ask those questions.

"Out of this whole situation, I feel the most sorry for the poor Potter boy," Fudge continued.

"Excuse me, sir," Arthur interrupted. "The Potter boy?"

"Yes, yes," Fudge said while wringing his hands. "Your daughter was married to young Harry Potter. The poor boy is so shy, I wonder how he is dealing with the shock that he is married. He rarely leaves the Malfoys' home. That's why the Malfoys' started that school within their home. Out of all their wards, only Draco decided to attend Hogwarts."

Arthur's eyebrows were threatening to jump off his face. Did Fudge honestly believe all the hype that the Malfoys had been passing around for the past several years? Did he really think Harry Potter wanted nothing to do with the wizarding world, and that the Malfoys were merely protecting him? Just thinking about Fudge's position made Arthur's head spin.

"Do they know how this error occurred?" Arthur hesitantly asked. He didn't want to push his luck.

"Of course not, Weasley!" Fudge snapped and Arthur knew this conversation was coming to an end.

"If anything is found out, you will be notified," the minister amended calming his tone. "Gentlemen, have a good day," Fudge said as he exited the office.

All Arthur and Perkins could do was stare at each other. After about five minutes, Perkins finally spoke up. "Wicked, Arthur! Your son-in-law is the Boy-Who-Lived!"

Today was going to be a long day for Arthur. He needed to contact Dumbledore as soon as possible to tell him what he had learned about Ginny's new husband.

~*~

"But, Father," the shrill voice of Draco Malfoy could be heard from outside the main study of Malfoy Manor. "I wanted the Weasley whore for myself! You said I could have her as a plaything."

Sissy could hardly believe the whiny bastard's gall for saying such things in the open about Ginevra, if her Lord caught wind, it would be likely that the Malfoy family would lose their only heir. Granted neither Draco nor Lucius knew she was standing outside of the door, but with the large household they employed, they should both know better than to say such things without silencing charms around their meeting areas.

"Draco," the impatient voice of Lucius Malfoy broke Sissy from her thoughts. "I have my theories as to why Potter may have wanted the Weasley slut for his own, but until I can confirm my theories I dare not openly speculate as to what they may be."

"It's always about Potter," Draco hissed. "He always gets everything he could ever want, all because he has a ruddy scar on his head. There is nothing special about that git."

"You do not know everything Draco," Lucius said with a warning tone to his voice. "Not everything is simple when it comes to that boy. You know as a baby he defeated our master, and then he did it again when he was nine years old. Potter is dangerous and we must tread lightly around him at all times."

"But, Father," Draco whined again, "Potter is under your control. Can't you simply order him to let me have the ginger bitch as my plaything?"

Sissy could hear Lucius sigh through the door. "I can control where he can go in this manor. The wards I placed around him when we gained custody allow me that much control. Other than that Potter is a loose cannon, one I almost wish I never had anything to do with. If it wasn't for the reward the Dark Lord will bestow upon me when he returns, I would have sent the boy away by now."

"Surly you must be joking, Father," Draco said with ill disguised contempt. "Potter is nothing. You are far more powerful than that _half-blood_," the term soundly like a foul insult coming from Draco's mouth, "could ever hope to be."

"Draco," Lucius said patiently as if he were talking to a small child. "There are many things, especially about Potter that we do not understand. The most talented Unspeakables with the Department of Mysteries still do not know how Potter survived the killing curse cast by the Dark Lord over fifteen years ago. When it comes to Potter we must always tread lightly while showing him where is proper place is."

"Father, if Potter is such a hassle why don't we just simply kill him?" The simple way Draco suggested her Lord be murdered chilled Sissy to the core, even though she had a pretty good idea what Lucius's response would be.

"If it were easy to kill Potter, than the Dark Lord would have done it fifteen years ago," Lucius heatedly replied. "Besides everyone would be pointing their fingers directly at us, if anything were to happen to Potter while he lives here. My son, you are of age now, I had hoped you had better common sense than this."

Sissy could imagine the look on the spoiled brat's face. Draco really did reflect the idiot he was born to be when he chose to.

"In any event, Draco," Lucius continued without missing a beat. "When you return from school for Christmas, I will be prepared to teach you how to control the wards surrounding Potter."

"But why can't I learn now?" Draco whined for the third time. Sissy would love to do nothing more than to smack the pompous stuck up ass by now.

"Because, Draco," Lucius's temper was finally beginning to show. "The wards need to be slightly modified to allow another individual of the Malfoy bloodline to gain control of these wards."

"And when I do, I can have the Weasley slut with Potter forced to be in the room watching, unable to do anything about it!" Draco stated with glee in his voice.

"Draco!" Lucius bellowed. "Forget the Weasley girl, she is dead to you. The girl belongs to Potter and is not worth the effort. Besides, no one knows what Potter is truly capable of until he is backed into a corner. Perhaps you should write to Pansy, and attempt to patch things up with her once again."

"But, Father," Draco whined, as Sissy rolled her eyes at his childish antics. "Pansy looks like a dog."

Sissy secretly agreed with Draco's assessment of Mistress Parkinson. She had the opportunity to view the pure-blood heiress several times when she would visit young Draco. Having run out of patience at Draco's behavior, Sissy mentally cataloged this conversation to report to her Lord later in the evening. He would be pleased to know what she was able to learn from the two bumbling Malfoys.

~*~

**A/N:** A huge thank you to swanpride for helping me workout the kinks in this chapter, and to zephy for her beta work. I will be looking for an additional beta who is strong with spelling and grammar to assist me for a few weeks while zephy is recovering from surgery. If you are interested send me a pm or an email. Also, I am moving the update day of this fic from Sunday to Thursday, so the next update won't be till April 23rd. Too much going on with getting The Strength of Family ready to update on Mondays to give this story the proper love on Sunday nights.

Foria

**Next Chapter: The Caged Lion**


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